Scaffold shelf

ABSTRACT

A removable shelf for attachment to a scaffold including a generally L-shaped frame releasably connectable around one of the vertically spaced horizontal crossbars of the scaffold. An object support panel is connected to one or both of the legs to support objects thereatop. Each leg is of sufficient length to extend between two vertically adjacent crossbars so that a distal portion of one leg contacts a lower one of the two crossbars to maintain the substantially horizontal orientation of the other leg and corresponding support panel when weighty objects are placed thereatop.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to accessories for scaffolds, and moreparticularly to a self-supporting releasably connectable shelf forattachment to a scaffold for holding objects such as working implements,paints and the like.

2. Description of Related Art

Workmen utilizing scaffolds for various phases of construction andbuilding repair typically stand on a lower platform of the scaffoldingwhile work is being done on a particular portion of the building, thescaffolding then being movable from place to place to continueconstruction operations.

Typical scaffolds are formed of elongated tubular or angle members whichare either bolted or welded together at their ends. Very littleattention is typically given by scaffold manufacturers to accessorieswhich will assist a worker in holding weighty objects during completionof the work task at hand.

Prior art discloses a number of previous accessories attachable toscaffolds to assist the worker in more effectively utilizing thescaffold by more conveniently supporting work objects and moreefficiently attaching additional horizontal platforms for moving aboutduring working conditions. The following U.S. patents embody thosenotions.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,023 to Allen teaches a scaffold table for removableattachment to scaffolding and U.S. Pat. No. 3,493,208 to Sato disclosesa bracket for fastening boards or other projections to a scaffold.

Fears, et al. discloses a collapsible scaffold bracket in U.S. Pat. No.5,259,477 and an adjustable ladder stabilizer and tool holder is taughtby Haig in U.S. Pat. No. 6,691,825. U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,198 to Sharpediscloses a bracket for mounting a ladder shelf and Chen teaches ascaffold with spring locking members which are releasably attachedsupporting a shelf in U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,222. U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,190to Bishop teaches a shelf-supporting bracket for a scaffold. Otherpatents are of interest as follows:

-   -   U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,774 to Riblet    -   U.S. Pat. No. 2,897,013 to Delp    -   U.S. Pat. No. 2,342,427 to Riblet    -   U.S. Pat. D412,754 to Harden    -   U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,974 to Savitski    -   U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,551 to Gray    -   U.S. Pat. No. 6,902,034 to Gibson, et al.

The present invention provides a simple, removable, releasablyattachable shelf for attachment to the vertically spaced horizontalcrossbars of a scaffold and, in the preferred embodiment, offers truehorizontal double or dual working surfaces for supporting heavy orweighty objects. This dual surface feature facilitates quickly andeasily reorienting the unit to extend inwardly of the imaginary envelopeof the scaffold or outwardly thereof depending upon the task at hand andpreference of the worker. Note that the base unit may be manuallyremoved and reattached to reorient its single working surface as well.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to a removable shelf for attachment to ascaffold including a generally L-shaped frame releasably connectablearound one of the vertically spaced horizontal crossbars of thescaffold. An object support panel is connected to one or preferably,both of the legs to support objects thereatop. Each leg is of sufficientlength to extend between two vertically adjacent crossbars so that adistal portion of one leg contacts a lower one of the two crossbars tomaintain and stabilize the substantially horizontal orientation of theother leg and corresponding support panel when weighty objects areplaced thereatop without interfering with the quick and convenientinstallation and removal aspects of this invention.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a releasablyconnectable shelf for attachment to a scaffold which provides ahorizontal work surface for supporting work objects thereatop.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a releasablyattachable shelf for attachment to a scaffold which is completelyself-supporting when attached to the scaffold.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a quickly removableshelf for easy attachment to a scaffold which provides two alternateworking positions wherein the horizontal support panel is eitherinwardly or outwardly extended with respect to the upright perimeterprofile of the scaffolding itself.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a two-panelreleasably connectable utility shelf for attachment to a scaffold whichis easily positionable either inwardly of or outwardly from the outervertical profile of the scaffolding depending upon worker preferencewithout the need to remove the unit and reattach it in the oppositeorientation.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparenthereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with referenceto the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical scaffold showing oneembodiment of the invention releasably attached thereto in an outwardlyextended orientation.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation partially broken view of the invention shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view in the direction of arrow 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an end elevation view of another embodiment of the inventionshown in a first working position attached to a scaffold.

FIG. 5 is an end elevation view of FIG. 4 showing this embodiment 10′ inan alternate working position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, and firstly to FIG. 1, a typical tubularscaffold is there shown in phantom generally at S and includes aplurality of horizontally spaced upright tubular members U and ahorizontally spaced plurality of horizontal tubular members A, B, C, andD. A horizontal working platform P is provided atop which a worker maystand to accomplish the task at hand typically adjacent a building orwall structure.

One embodiment of the invention is shown generally at numeral 10 in FIG.1 releasably connected to and supported by two adjacent, verticallyspaced apart crossbars A and B. This embodiment 10 includes twohorizontal support panels 12 and 14 which are mechanically attached tothe generally orthogonally oriented legs of two spaced apart L-shapedframes 16.

As better seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, this embodiment 10 includes two spacedapart L-shaped frames 16 each of which generally each orthogonallyformed at a central fold or apex 36 thereof so that distal portions 16 aand 16 b are orthogonally oriented as shown for contact with the lowerone of the elongated horizontal crossbars B. Object support panels 12and 14 span across and connect the corresponding legs of each of theL-shaped frames 16 so as to generally meet at the apex 36 of each of theframes 16 and terminate at outwardly extending catch flanges 18 and 20so as to prevent tools and other working objects from easily slidingaway from the worker and off of the distal edges of the correspondinghorizontal panel 12 or 14.

A spring biased releasable engagement member 15 is attached by supports24 a and 25 b to the inner surfaces of one of the legs of each of theframes 16. Each of these engagement members 15 includes an elongatedshaft 22 having a pull handle 30 disposed at one end thereof and aU-shaped crossbar engaging member 26 formed at the other end thereof.The crossbar engagement member 26 generally has two spaced prongs 28which are sized to snugly fit over the outer diameter of the crossbar Ato entrap the crossbar A against the inner surfaces of the frames 16 tosnugly support the shelf 10, yet to allow for free rotation of theentire shelf 10 in the direction of arrow E about the longitudinal axisof the crossbar A.

A compression biasing spring 32 is positioned around shaft 22 betweenone of the supports 24 a and a stop 34 attached to the shaft 22 so as tomaintain member 15 in the closed or locked position as shown except whenmanually moved to an open position in the direction of arrow 8 bymanually moving handle 30 in the direction of arrow F to disengage thecrossbar engaging member 26 from around the crossbar A.

When weight W is placed atop the support panel 12 when the shelf 10 isin the orientation shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the lower distal portion16 b engages against crossbar B at R so as to prevent any rotationalmovement of the shelf 10. In the position shown in FIG. 2, the supportpanel 12 extends to the right of the crossbar A. By rotation of theshelf 10 in the counter-clockwise direction of arrow E, the supportpanel 12 takes on a generally upright orientation shown in phantomwherein distal portion 16 a then receives support from further rotationagainst the opposite side of crossbar B and further wherein the supportpanel 14 then moves into a generally horizontal orientation (not shownin FIG. 2) extending laterally to the left or away from the orientationpreviously established by support panel 12.

Still referring specifically to FIG. 2, in this embodiment 10, each ofthe legs of the frames 16 are oriented orthogonally or at 90° one toanother as shown. Typically, any two of the vertically spaced crossbarsA and B are oriented vertically one to another about an imaginaryvertical line V so that support panel 12 becomes oriented at a slightangle G to horizontal H. This results in the support panel 12 (or 14)being tipped slightly upwardly toward the distal edge and flange 18 (or20) so that objects placed thereatop may inadvertently roll toward theworker.

To improve upon this minor inconvenience of feature, the embodiment 10′shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is provided and is generally preferred. Byorienting the legs of the generally L-shaped frame 16′ at an angle atapex 36′ of slightly less than orthogonal or in the range of about 85°,each of the support panels 12 and 14 become substantially horizontallyoriented. Thus, whether this embodiment 10′ is oriented to the left of(or outward from) the crossbars A and B, with support panel 14 being thehorizontal work surface or, whether after rotation of the device 10′about the upper crossbar A in the direction of arrow E, support panel 12becomes horizontally positioned and oriented to extend inwardly withrespect to the crossbars A and B, a substantially horizontal workingsurface is always provided for the worker and is easily selectablewithout the need to remove the device 10′ for reattachment in theopposite direction.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in whatare conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosedherein, but is to be afforded the full scope of the claims so as toembrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles.

1. A removable shelf for attachment to a scaffold comprising: agenerally L-shaped frame having an apex area and first and second legsand including a releasable engagement arrangement connectable around oneof a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal crossbars of the scaffoldto secure said apex area to the crossbar for substantially only pivotalmovement of said frame on and about a longitudinal axis of the crossbar;an object support panel connected to each of said first and second legs;said first leg being of sufficient length to extend between twovertically adjacent crossbars wherein, when said apex area is releasablysecured by said engagement member around an upper one of the twocrossbars with said second leg and corresponding support panel beingsubstantially horizontally disposed, a distal portion of said first legcontacts a lower one of the two crossbars to maintain the substantiallyhorizontal orientation of said second leg and corresponding supportpanel when objects are, placed atop said support panel attached to saidsecond leg; said engagement arrangement including an elongated shaftheld on said frame for sliding longitudinal translation of said shaft,said shaft having a U-shaped crossbar engaging member formed at one endof said shaft and a pull handle connected to another end of said shaft,said shaft being biased toward the upper crossbar to maintain saidcrossbar engaging member in a closed position against the uppercrossbar.
 2. A removable shelf as set forth in claim 1, wherein: saidlegs are oriented one to another at an angle slightly less thanorthogonal to establish a true horizontal positioning of one said legand corresponding said support panel.
 3. A removable shelf forattachment to a scaffold comprising: a generally L-shaped frame havingan apex area and first and second legs and including spaced apartreleasable engagement members for connection around one of a pluralityof vertically spaced horizontal crossbars of the scaffold to secure saidapex area to the crossbar for substantially only pivotal movement ofsaid frame on and about a longitudinal axis of the crossbar; an objectsupport panel connected to each of said first and second legs; each ofsaid legs having a length sufficient to span two vertically adjacentcrossbars wherein, when said apex area is releasably secured by saidengagement member around an upper one of the two crossbars with one saidleg and corresponding support panel being substantially horizontallydisposed, a distal portion of the other said leg contacts a lower one ofthe two crossbars to maintain the substantially horizontal orientationof said one leg and corresponding support panel when objects are placedatop said support panel attached to the other said leg; said engagementarrangement including an elongated shaft dependently held on said framefor sliding longitudinal translation, said shaft having a U-shapedcrossbar engaging member formed at one end of said shaft and a pullhandle connected to another end of said shaft, said shaft being biasedtoward the upper crossbar to maintain said crossbar engaging member in aclosed position against the upper crossbar.
 4. A removable shelf as setforth in claim 3, wherein: said legs are oriented one to another at anangle slightly less than orthogonal to establish a true horizontalpositioning of one said leg and corresponding said support panel.
 5. Aremovable shelf for attachment to a scaffold comprising: a generallyL-shaped frame having an apex area and first and second legs andincluding a releasable engagement arrangement connectable around one ofa plurality of vertically spaced horizontal crossbars of the scaffold tosecure said apex area to the crossbar for substantially only pivotalmovement of said frame on and about a longitudinal axis of the crossbarbetween a first and a second position; an object support panel connectedto each of said first and second legs; each of said legs being ofsufficient and substantially identical length to extend between twovertically adjacent crossbars wherein, when said apex area is releasablysecured by said engagement member around an upper one of the twocrossbars and said frame is in the first position with said second legand corresponding support panel being substantially horizontallydisposed in a first lateral direction, a distal portion of said firstleg contacts a lower one of the two crossbars to maintain thesubstantially horizontal orientation of said second leg andcorresponding support panel when objects are placed atop said supportpanel attached to said second leg; said frame being pivotable about theupper crossbar into the second position with said first leg andcorresponding support panel being substantially horizontally disposed ina second lateral direction opposite from the first lateral direction, adistal portion of said second leg contacting a lower one of the twocrossbars to maintain the substantially horizontal orientation of saidfirst leg and corresponding support panel when objects are placedthereatop; said engagement arrangement includes an elongated shaftdependently held on said frame for sliding longitudinal translation ofsaid shaft, said shaft having a U-shaped crossbar engaging member formedat one end of said shaft and a pull handle connected to another end ofsaid shaft, said shaft being biased towards the upper crossbar tomaintain said crossbar engaging member in a closed position against theupper crossbar.
 6. A removable shelf as set forth in claim 5, wherein:said legs are oriented one to another at an angle slightly less thanorthogonal to establish a true horizontal positioning of one said legand corresponding said support panel.